Rear tire removal - HELP!

[Guest Ken8143]

OK guys. I screwed my courage to the sticking point and with a good buddy we are taking the tires off the 87. Following Freebirds pictures and a bit of native intelligence we did OK - except - for that daggone rear wheel brake caliper retaining bolt - the rear bolt that attaches to the bracket.

 

It just won't come off. It is damaged as well. and the socket wont fit on it any more. How the heck do we get it off? The bolt head is chewed up something awful.

 

Any ideas out there in Venture Land?

[Squeeze]

You might consider to use a angled Grinder and carefully cut the Head off. Or you can use a 3/4 " Drill and bore the Head off. Now, undo the Wheel Axle and you can wiggle the Bracket with the Caliper to a Point where the Caliper slides out of the Bracket.

 

If the Bolt is only locked up and not sticking inside the Thread, it will move after the Head is off and you can move it using Pliers or a Vise Grip.

 

If you have Patience enough, you can try to grind the Bolt Head to smaller Size(12mm instead of 14mm) and use the smaller Socket.

[mark reed]

If it is the bolt conecting the bracket to the swingarm,mine is stuck too.But it is not nessary to remove it.Just remove the calaper and swing the bracket out of the way and tie up with a piece of wire.Hope this will help.Mark.

[GeorgeS]

I assume you are refferecing the " Two " Chrome head 13mm bolts that hold the Caliper unit to the piece that the axel goes thru.

 

If so, I would consider grinding it to fit the next size smaller "Open End " Wrench size smaller. It should only have about 10 to 15 lb of torque on it.

 

If that fails, you might have to Grind Off the Head, drill a hole in the center of it, and get an " Easy Out " too to remove the remainder of it.

 

Just hope the threads in the Caliper unit are not ruined.

 

If so, then after removal of the old bolt, you might have to drill out the old threads of the caliper, and use a new Bolt, with a LOCK Nut. ( a larger diameter bolt )

 

If you run up against a wall, post some Pictures of what you have. Sombody will have some ideas as how to proceed.

[Squeeze]

.. the " Two " Chrome head 13mm bolts ....

 

Yammi has 14 mm on a M10 Bolt or 17 mm, but never 13mm. 13 mm is former metric Standard.

[Yammer Dan]

Craftsman has a socket for damaged bolts that works but I think you have to buy the set.

[Skid]

Craftsman has a socket for damaged bolts that works but I think you have to buy the set.

 

called "Bolt outs" I think, and they do work wonders. I've had to use them a couple times on some old rusty bad bolts / nuts. Made by craftsman.....

[Guest Ken8143]

Craftsman has a socket for damaged bolts that works but I think you have to buy the set.

 

I went out and bought the set. What a disappointment. Just chewed the head down even more. I think my next step is to grind the head off and use the easy?-out.

 

Thanks for the ideas.

[hipshot]

ken. have you tried giving the bolt head a couple of SHARP, raps, with a steel hammer?

sometimes that breaks the threads loose from what ever may have them seized.

in your case, though, you might want to wait 'till "spring thaw",.

they might just be frozen in place!

lol

just jt

[BradT]

Two other options, but require special tools I have had to use both these methods in the past. (not sure which bolt your refering too but both these methods can cause more damage than good)

 

• Weld a new nut to the head of the old bolt, and use the correct size wrench or socket.
  
• Heating the bolt head red hot and as it cools use vise grips.

If the bolt is tight or rusted in there then grinding the head off may make it a real problem. Also if someone use lock-tite you may need heat to remove it anyway. (welding the new nut can generate heat to break the lock-tite)

 

 

Brad

[Marcarl]

You've got all the best info so far, lots of ideas. If all that don't work, buy yourself a 'parts bike' and then rebuild the parts bike with the parts off of the present one. I hear that in some cases this works.

[oldandcrotchety]

What has always worked for me in a case where the bolt head is ruined is to use a stud remover. Just grind what's left of the head off and get the bracket out of the way and then use the stud remover with a 1/2 inch ratchet on the shaft of the bolt. On very rare occasions over the years i have had to heat the bolt cherry red and then douse with cold water. This will usually break loose even the most stubborn bolt. I don't know if Craftsman carries the stud remover, but I got mine from Snap On. One other thing to keep in mind is that on a couple of bolts have snapped off even with the surface, but that was usually when it was in aluminum.

[Condor]

Craftsman has a socket for damaged bolts that works but I think you have to buy the set.

 

i think it's only one socket. Kinda filled with small rods that form to the shape of the buggered up head. However.... I end up drilling them out more often than not.

The bracket on my '83 seemed a little loose, so i tried to tighten it when I rebuilt the rear caliper. Couldn't tighten it. I think Yamaha, for safety reasons, might make the bolt non-removable because of the constant heating and cooling of the brake assembly, and the possibility of the bolt loosening to the point of coming out. ???

[Guest Ken8143]

OK folks - rejoice with me. I got that dang bolt off. Here is the story. I soaked both sides (bolt head and thread end) with PB blaster. Let it set overnight. Whacked the head of the bold with authority.

 

Took the caliper with the attached bracked out to the shed where I have a big vice. Since the bolt head was worn down to a taper, I used a file to make the edges of the bolt head "flat." Kept messing until I could get a real good hold with a massive vice grip.

 

Put the bracket in the vice, grabbed the best hold I could get with the vice grip on the by now nearly un recognizable bolt head, and grunted real hard.

 

That bolt backed out real nice!

 

This may sound wierd, but I wondered if some yahoo used an air wrench to put that bolt on, and it slipped off and chewed things up? No sign of corrosion at all.

 

I may just turn into a bone fide wrench with a little help from my friends!

[Rocket]

OK folks - rejoice with me. I got that dang bolt off.

 

I may just turn into a bone fide wrench with a little help from my friends!

 

Great to hear.............:thumbsup2:

[GeorgeS]

Hmmm, read all this yesterday, and your success story this morning.

 

Thinking, maby applying some Heat with a torch, might have made it

quicker.

[Guest Ken8143]

yeah, might have, except until I got the bracket off, I didn't want to put a lot of heat where it was!

[bike nut]

Alot of times when I have a damaged bolt I take a chisel and hammer.I give the shoulder of the bolt a couple of good hits.This usually always loosens the bolt.Also you can tap on a 12 point socet.